From WikiLeaks

The CRS is a Congressional "think tank" with a staff of around 700. Reports are commissioned by members of Congress on topics relevant to current political events. Despite CRS costs to the tax payer of over $100M a year, its electronic archives are, as a matter of policy, not made available to the public.

Individual members of Congress will release specific CRS reports if they believe it to assist them politically, but CRS archives as a whole are firewalled from public access.

This report was obtained by Wikileaks staff from CRS computers accessible only from Congressional offices.

On September 30, 1999 Ecuador became the first country to default on its Brady bonds. The Brady Plan was inaugurated in March 1989 to address the lingering Latin American debt crisis by reducing country debt and repackaging the remainder into various types of bonds that could be sold in the securities markets. Ecuador is seeking to restructure its external debt, negotiating with private-sector investors for debt rescheduling and with the IMF for a $400 million stand-by arrangement. Although the amount of Ecuador's Brady bond default is small, it is precedent setting, with broader implications for the international financial community.